"My lord, Bloomfield has been confirmed dead. Also, that item has been delivered to that man's hands."
"Good. Thank you for your efforts. Go back and rest."
Mulan smiled and nodded.
"Yes, Legion Commander!"
The man standing across from Mulan was none other than the officer who had returned from the sea. He gave an impeccable salute, then left Mulan's office.
Mulan was now one of the military's true power holders. While designated officers coming to the Black Castle to report was not common, it was hardly unusual.
Mulan twirled the pen in his hand, then returned it to its holder. Propping his elbows on the desk, he rested his chin on his hands, a complicated gleam in his eyes. His attention had already shifted to somewhere far away.
At that same moment, where his shadow body stood, a biting wind whipped Mulan's hair into disarray. Unlike the imperial count seated in the Black Castle, the Shadow Demon standing on the cliff had thick black hair reaching his waist, its texture growing ever more like dense, smoky ink toward the ends.
"Caw! Caw!"
Several crows circled overhead, their calls ringing across the wilderness. Farther away, black wings blotted out the night sky, but that distant darkness was not made up of crows. It was countless bats.
In the distance, where Mulan's gaze rested, stood a magnificent Gothic castle. Even an ordinary person could sense evil and terror simply by looking at it, and that impression was close to the truth-at least for ordinary people.
Just then, a crow descended from the sky, landing beside Mulan and transforming into a member of Dawn whose hair at the temples was soaked with sweat.
"Lord Sage, we have confirmed there are no traces of werewolves within a hundred miles."
"Good."
Mulan nodded and